Thursday, April 30, 2015

La Quebrada, literally the ravine, is famous for the site of Acupulco cliff divers. It is located on the Acupulco peninsula about 0.5 miles due west of downtown Acupulco.

Long Description:

The stamp issued by Mexico in 1999 commemorating the 200th anniversary of Acupulco depicts the cliffs that form the bay at La Quebrada but not the actual site used by the cliff divers, which is a just to the west. The entire vista can be best seen from the posted coordinates at Sinfonia del Mar, an amphitheater along the road leading to the cliff divers.

Professional divers perform daily as they climb to a platform 115' above the sea and dive into a ravine with an average water depth of 12'. Depth varies form 6' to 18' depending upon the waves. The divers rely solely upon tips for income, but can make hundreds of dollars on a good day.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The Sinfonia Del Mar is located on Avenue Aldolfo Lopez Mateos overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the southwest part of Acapulco, Mexico.

Long Description:

The Sinfonia del Mar is a large city-owned amphitheater with a fantastic location overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the La Quebrada Cliffs, the site of the famous Acapulco cliff divers. Bench seating is divided into an upper section of sixteen rows with a large central section which is flanked by two smaller sections. There is also five rows of seating, in two sections, on the bottom separated from the rest of the seating above. Seats are reached by stairs between the seating sections and on either end of the amphitheater. The oval concrete stage area contains large red sunburst design.

The amphitheater is used for musical performances and symphony concerts and is a very popular place to watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean to the west. Admission to the Sinfonia del Mar is free. Restrooms are available during events and at sunset.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The Mermaid and Dolphin sculpture is located at the south side and top of the Sinfonia del Mar Amphitheater on Avenue Aldolfo Lopez Mateos in Acapulco, Mexico

Long Description:

At the top of the Sinfonia Del Mar amphitheater there is a 10' high bronze sculpture of a mermaid and a dolphin. Each figure is standing upright on their tails vertically on a hemisphere. The mermaid has long waist length hair and is extending her right arm to touch the dolphin in a gesture of friendship.

A bronze plaque a square 4.5' high rough-cut stone pedestal is inscribed:

MARCO RIVERO

ESCULTOR

MARZO 2006

Also, the hemisphere is signed and dated by the sculptor.

A mermaid is a mythological creature with a female body above the waist and the body and tail of a fish below. Stories about mermaids abound in folklore, literature, and popular culture. In some stories mermaids are benevolent toward men in other stories they are malevolent and drown their victims, usually unfortunate sailors. Modern stories tend to portray them in a more favorable light, as lovable creatures.

A monument honoring to Mexico's national hero Benito Pablo Juárez García, better known as Benito Juárez, is located along Avenue Costera Miguel Aleman opposite Plaza Alvarez in Acapulco, Mexico.

Long Description:

A monument to Benito Juárez contains a statue of the former President of Mexico which includes memorial plaque inset into the back of the statue. An 8' high bronze statue of Juárez is depicted standing on a 6' high by 4' square faced with 9" square of marble tiles. Darker tiles at the top of the monument that once spelled out JUAREZ are missing.

Juárez is shown wearing a shirt buttoned at the collar, suit and floor length robes. He is holding a a triangular object waist high in his right hand and is clutching a book to his chest with his left hand. The cover of the book is inscribed 1857 is raised numbers. It was in the year 1857 that the new reform constitution of Mexico was published under under which Juárez became President of the Supreme Court of Justice. In 1873, the city of Acapulco officially changed its name to Acapulco de Juárez

The plaque on the back of the statue contains the coat of arms of Acapulco and the following inscription which includes a famous quote from Juárez:

2002 - 2005

EL HONORABLE CONGRESO DEL

ESTADO DE GUERRERO

MEDIANTE DECRETO NUMERO 28,

DEL 27 DE JUNIO DE 1873,

DENOMINO A NUESTRA CIUDAD

COMO ACAPULCO DE JUAREZ.

EN HONOR AL ILUSTRE MEXICANO

BENITO JUAREZ GARCIA

BENEMERITO DE LAS AMERICAS.

EL PUEBLO Y GOBIERNO DE ACAPULCO,

RECORDANDO SU PASO

POR NUESTRO PUERTO, HONRA AL

RESTAURADOR DE LA REPUBLICA EN

EL 189 ANIVERSARIO DE SU NATALICIO.

"ENTRE LOS INDIVIDUOUS, COMO

ENTRE LAS NACIONES, EL RESPECTO

AL DERECHO AJENO ES LA PAZ."

ACAPULCO DE JUAREZ, GUERRERO; 21 DE MARZO DE 2004.

*** Translation ***

2002 2005

THE HONORABLE CONGRESS OF THE

STATE OF GUERRERO

BY DECREE NUMBER 28,

JUNE 27, 1873

I CALL OUR CITY

AS ACAPULCO DE JUÁREZ.

IN HONOR OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS MEXICAN

BENITO JUAREZ GARCIA

MAN OF DISTINCTION OF THE AMERICAS

THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT OF ACAPULCO,

RECALLING HIS VISIT

TO OUR PORT, HONORS THE

RESTORER OF THE REPUBLIC IN

THE 189TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH.

"AMONG INDIVIDUALS, AS

AMONG NATIONS, RESPECT

FOR THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS IS PEACE."

ACAPULCO DE JUÁREZ, GUERRERO; MARCH 21, 2004.

Benito Juarez was born March 21st 1806 in San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca, Mexico. He was the child of Zapoteco Indians. After his parents died when he was 3 years old he lived with relatives. At 12 years old he began studying for the priesthood but in 1829 switched to studying law.

He was governor of the state of Oaxaca from 1847 to 1852 but in 1853, he went into exile in New Orleans, LA because of his opposition to the corrupt military dictatorship of Antonio López de Santa Anna. He returned to Mexico in 1855 when the liberals formed a provisional government under General Juan Álvarez. He worked to create a modern civil society and capitalist economy. The Juárez Law of 1855 declared all citizens equal before the law and severely restricted the privileges of the Catholic Church.

Juárez was president of Mexico from 1861 - 1872. Between 1864 and 1867 he fought against the foreign occupation of Mexico under Archduke Maximilian of Austria who was backed by Napoleon III of France. Benito Juárez died of a heart attack on July 18, 1872 in the National Palace in Mexico City.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The Springfield College peace pole is located on the lawn north of Alden Street and west of Babson Library in Springfield, MA.

Long Description:
On a grassy area west of the Babson Library, Springfield College, acting on a recommendation of the Graduate Student Organization, erected a four sided peace pole on campus that includes eight languages which are representative of the languages spoken by students in the College community. An unveiling ceremony for the monument took place on Monday, April 20, 2015. The peace pole is made of dark wood with inscribed white plastic panels attached.

The message MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH appears in the following languages:

Sunday, April 19, 2015

The Bridge of the Americas spans the southeast end of the Panama Canal at the Pacific Ocean.
Location: Panama

North Side

South Side

Long Description:

The Bridge of the Americas spans the Pacific Ocean side of the Panama Canal at Balboa, Panama. This steel arch bridge was was designed by Sverdrup and Parcel, cost $20,000,000, construction began on October 12, 1959, and the bridge opened on October 12, 1962. The bridge is 5,425' long. The center span is a tied arch which is 850' long and 384' high. The bridge is fixed and ships must pass under it. It has a clearance of 201' above mean sea level.

Originally, the bridge was named the Thatcher Ferry Bridge because the Thatcher Ferry, named after a former member of the canal commission, Maurice H. Thatcher, operated at this location. Before its inaugural opening, the government of Panama passed a resolution naming the structure the Bridge of the Americas. The renaming became official when Panama took control of the Canal Zone from the United States in 1979.

The airmail stamp was issued by Panama on October 12, 1962 to commemorate the opening of the Bridge of the Americas.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

The Miraflores Locks are the final set of locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. They are located south of Miraflores Lake and north of the Pacific Ocean.

Miraflores Damn

Long Description:

The Panama Canal was constructed between 1881 and 1914. There are three sets of locks, two lakes and one long rock cut along the Panama Canal. Each has historic name of the area in which they are built. The Pedro Miguel Locks are the middle set and smallest of the of locks of the Panama Canal. They are south of the Culebra Cut and the continental divide and north of Miraflores Lake.

The Miraflores Locks contains a set of two parallel locks each containing a two chambers. All the present locks on the Panama Canal are operated by gravity. In the case of the Miraflores Locks, fresh water from Miraflores Lake into the Locks and out to the Pacific Ocean. When the water flows out of the locks into the Pacific Ocean, ships are lowered 54 feet in two stages. For northbound traffic, ships are raised 54 feet in two stges when water flows into the locks from the Miraflores Lake. Ships are then raised until the water level is even with Miraflores Lake allowing ships to then exit. The entire system relies upon rainfall for its operation.

The Miraflores Locks are 33.5 meters wide and 320 meters long with a usable length of 304.8 meters. The lock chambers made of concrete with side walls that taper from 45' - 55' at the base to 8' at the top. The center dividing wall is 60' thick.

Visitors Center

A visitors center on the southeast end of the Miraflores Locks allows visitors see the Miraflores locks operation. The highlight would be viewing the passage of a cruise ship through the locks.

Friday, April 17, 2015

The Pedro Miguel Locks are the middle set of locks on the Panama Canal. They are located south of the Culebra Cut and north of Miraflores Lake on the Pacific Ocean side of the Panama Canal.

Long Description:

The Panama Canal was constructed between 1881 and 1914. There are three sets of locks, two lakes and one long rock cut along the Panama Canal. Each has historic name of the area in which they are built. The Pedro Miguel Locks are the middle set and smallest of the of locks of the Panama Canal. They are south of the Culebra Cut and the continental divide and north of Miraflores Lake.

The Pedro Miguel Locks contain a single set of parallel locks each containing a single chamber. All the present locks on the Panama Canal are operated by gravity. In the case of the Pedro Miguel Locks, fresh water from Gatun Lake and the Chagres River flows into the Culebra Cut. For southbound traffic, this water flows into the Pedro Locks. When the water flows out of the lock into Miraflores Lake, towards the Pacific Ocean, ships are lowered 31 feet. For northbound ships, ships are raised 31 feet when water flows into the lock from the Culebra Cut until the level is equal with the Culebra Cut. Ships can then exit the lock. Thus, the entire system relies upon rainfall for its operation.

The Pedro Miquel locks are 33.5 meters wide and 320 meters long with a usable length of 304.8 meters. The lock chambers made of concrete with side walls that taper from 45' - 55' at the base to 8' at the top. The center dividing wall is 60' thick.

The stamp was issued for the Canal Zone by the United States in 1939 as part of a set of 16 stamps to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. It shows the Pedro Miquel locks looking north towards the Culebra Cut as they appeared in 1939.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

The Centennial Bridge crosses the Culebra (Gaillard) Cut between the Continental Divide and the Pedro Miguel locks. It now is part of the Pan-American Highway. The bridge commemorates the 100th anniversary of the independence of Panama which occurred on November 3, 2003.

Looking North

Long Description:

The cable stay Centennial Bridge was designed by T.Y. Lin International and the Louis Berger Group Inc. It was constructed by the German firm of Bilfinger Berger. The bridge opened for traffic on September 2, 2005.

Data:

Total distance is 3451 feet
The main span is 1,380 feet.
Tower heights are 604 feet.
Height above the water is 262 feet
Lanes of traffic = 6

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The Culebra Cut, once called the Gaillard Cut, is an artificial waterway created by cutting through the the Isthmus of Panama at the continental divide.

Long Description:

The Panama Canal was constructed between 1881 and 1914. There are three sets of locks, two lakes and one long rock cut along the Panama Canal. Each has historic name of the area in which they are built. The Culebra Cut (Gaillard Cut) begins at the south end of Gatun Lake and continues until you reach the Pedro Miguel Locks. Culebra is the name of the mountain through which the cut is made and Galliard was David du Bose Gaillard who led the excavation.

Continental Divide

The Culebra Cut is the narrowest part of the Panama Canal. The 12.7 km long passageway was excavated through the rock of the continental divide along the Isthmus of Panama. To the west of the cut are the Rocky Mountains and the Andes Mountains are on the east. At the continental dived the cut is noticeably terraced.

The excavation of the Culebra Cut was begun by the French under Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1881 in the attempt to build a sea level can connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They excavated 18,646,000 cubic yards of material before abandoning the project. To do this they lowered the summit from 210 feet 194 feet. The United States took over the project on May 4, 1904. Sixty million pounds of dynamite were required to complete the cut and a railroad system was constructed to to haul away the enormous amount of dirt and rock. The Culebra Cut was completed on May 20, 1913. The summit was lowered from 194' to its present day 39' above sea level.

Terraced Cut at Continental Divide

The stamp was issued for the Canal Zone by the United States in 1939 as part of a set of 16 stamps to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. It shows the Culebra Cut, facing north, at the continental divide.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Short Description:
Gatun Lake is an artificial lake that begins at the Gatun Dam and end at the north end of the Culebra Cut.Long Description:

Gatun Lake is a 21 mile long artificial lake to the south of the Gatun Locks in the Panama Canal.
The lake was started in 1907 with the building of the Gatun Dam across the Chagres River about 6 miles from its outlet to the Caribbean Sea. The lake completely filled in 1913. When created it was the largest man-made lake in the world and Gatun Dam was the largest of its kind.

The lake filled the valley of the Chagres River. Subsequently, the valley was widened and deepened to accommodate shipping. It was formed, and the river widened and deepened, by the construction of the Gatun Dam. The surrounding formed a natural basin around the lake perimeter,

Dredging

Gatun Lake is 85 feet above sea level and has an area of 164 sq. mi. The entire canal system is operated by gravity fed water from Gatun Lake which holds 183,000,000,000 cubic feet of fresh water, equaling the annual flow of the Chagres River.

Monday, April 13, 2015

The Gatun Locks are the northernmost set of locks on the Panama Canal. They are located six miles (10 km) south of the city of Colon, Panama.

Looking North

Long Description:

The Panama Canal was constructed between 1881 and 1914. There are three sets of locks, two lakes and one long rock cut along the Panama Canal. Each has historic name of the area in which they are built. The Gatun Locks are the northernmost set of locks and the first you encounter as you travel southeast from the Atlantic Ocean side to the Pacific Ocean side of the Panama Canal. They are located 6 miles south of the entrance to the canal and lift and lower ships 29.5 meters to and from Gatun Lake. All the locks present locks on the Panama Canal are operated by gravity. In the case of the Gatun Locks, fresh water from Gatun Lake flows into the upper chambers and progressively flows downhill into the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, the entire system relies upon rainfall for its operation.

South (Gatun Lake) Exit

The Gatun locks are the largest of the locks on the Panama Canal. They consist of two parallel sets of locks each having three chambers. Each lock is 300 meters long. The walls are 15 meters thick at the base and taper to 3 meters thick at the top. Between the locks is a 18 meter wide by 24 meter high central wall. The steel lock gates average 2 meters thick, 1905 meters in length and are 20 meters high. central at the top. The central wall between the parallel locks at Gatun has a thickness of 18 meters and stands in excess of 24 meters in height. The lock gates are made from steel and measures an average of 2 meters thick, 19.5 meters in length and stand 20 meters in height. In order to construct the Gatun Locks 1,820,000 cubic meters of concrete were poured.

The stamp was issued for the Canal Zone by the United States in 1939 as part of a set of 16 stamps to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. It shows the north (Atlantic) entrance to the Gatun Locks as they appeared in 1939.

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author of children's stories and a poet. He was born in Odense, Denmark on April 2, 1805. In his lifetime he achieved wide acclaim for his stories; the most famous of which are "The Little Mermaid", "Thumbelina", and "The Ugly Duckling". His stories have been translated into more than 150 languages and have been the subjects of animated films( "The Ugly Duckling"), songs ("Thumbelina") and even a ballet "The Little Mermaid".

Some of his fairy tales include (from Wikipedia):

The Angel (1843)
The Bell
The Emperor's New Clothes (1837)
The Fir-Tree (1844)
The Galoshes of Fortune (1838)
The Happy Family
The Ice-Maiden (1863)
It's Quite True!
The Little Match Girl (1845)
The Little Mermaid (1837)
Little Tuck
The Nightingale (1843)
The Old House
The Princess and the Pea (1835)
The Red Shoes (1845)
Sandman (1841)
Several Things (1837)
The Shadow (1847)
The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep (1845)
The Snow Queen (1844)
The Steadfast Tin Soldier (1838)
The Story of a Mother (1847)
The Swineherd (1841)
Thumbelina (1835)
The Tinderbox (1835)
The Ugly Duckling (1843)
The Wild Swans (1838)

About Me

My interest in travel and exploration took me to all 50 states, much of Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, as well as some of Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico. As I got older my outdoor activities shifted from hiking to orienteering to geocaching to waymarking.